Stand-Up Specials
They compare live comedy to filmed specials. Being in the room feels much stronger, but cameras add pressure and make it harder to relax.
#2548 - Brian Simpson
Source description
Brian Simpson is a comedian, writer, host of the “Bottom of the Barrel” comedy show at the Comedy Mothership, and host of the podcast “BS with Brian Simpson.” His special “Live from the Mothership” is available on …
Brian Simpson is a comedian, writer, host of the “Bottom of the Barrel” comedy show at the Comedy Mothership, and host of the podcast “BS with Brian Simpson.” His special “Live from the Mothership” is available on YouTube.https://youtu.be/NqK1gyTYt8Mhttps://www.youtube.com/@bswithbriansimpsonhttps://www.briansimpsoncomedy.com Perplexity: Download the app or ask Perplexity anything at https://pplx.ai/rogan. Don’t miss out on all the action this week at DraftKings! Download the DraftKings app today! Sign-up using https://dkng.co/rogan or through my promo code ROGAN. Get a free welcome kit with your first subscription of AG1 at drinkag1.com/joerogan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Key Topics
- Stand-Up Specials
- Watching Yourself Back
- CTE In Football
- Public Sympathy And Violence
- The Child Murder Case
- COVID And Fauci Claims
- AIDS Era Disputes
- RFK Jr. Reassessment
- Autism Research And Fraud
- THC, Adderall, And Drug Rules
- ADHD And Boredom
- School As Worker Training
- Political Fundraising
- Insider Trading And NGO Money
- USAID And Regime Change
- Power And Political Decay
- Religion And Psychedelics
- Cults And Authority
- Moral Grandstanding
- Street Fights And Risk
- A Bouncer Fight Story
- North Sentinel Island
- Disease And Colonization
- Handwashing In Medicine
- Mouthwash And The Microbiome
- Extreme Hygiene Stories
- Great Lakes And Ice Age Questions
- Nepal Avalanche Disaster
- Comets, Floods, And Tunguska
- China And Authoritarian Power
- Dictators And Resource Control
- Tim Dillon's Satire
- Tiger Woods And Painkillers
- Toradol And Football Pain
- Fighting Past Your Prime
- Gore In Combat Sports
- Michael Chandler And Conor
- Cryonics And Heaven
- AI As Religion And Government
- Universal Basic Income
- Remote Viewing And Machines
- Robots, Bots, And AI Art
Watching Yourself Back
They talk about how painful it is for comics to review their own taped sets. Delay makes it worse because performers judge their voice, gestures, and missed tags.
CTE In Football
They discuss a study on deceased NFL players and the high rate of CTE in donated brains. The conversation expands to subconcussive hits, soccer headers, and possible links to ALS.
Public Sympathy And Violence
They talk about how society jokes about CTE and often shows less sympathy for damaged male athletes. That leads into a broader point about who gets compassion in public discourse.
The Child Murder Case
They react angrily to public support for a mother accused of killing her children. The discussion centers on perceived double standards and the limits of mental health sympathy.
COVID And Fauci Claims
Rogan argues that Anthony Fauci lied about COVID policy, vaccine effects, and gain-of-function research. Brian mostly asks questions while Rogan lays out his case.
AIDS Era Disputes
They revisit old controversies around AIDS treatment, AZT, and Peter Duesberg. Rogan frames it as part of a longer pattern of medical dishonesty and suppressed dissent.
RFK Jr. Reassessment
They discuss how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was once dismissed as fringe. Rogan says his environmental background and vaccine criticism look more credible to him now.
Autism Research And Fraud
They mention a scientist tied to major vaccine-autism research who was later charged with fraud offenses. From there, they discuss industry influence over science and public health messaging.
THC, Adderall, And Drug Rules
They question why THC faces bans while prescription stimulants remain easy to obtain. The point becomes a broader complaint about arbitrary lines between legal and illegal drugs.
ADHD And Boredom
They argue that many ADHD diagnoses may reflect boredom and mismatch with rigid institutions. Rogan treats intense focus on interesting tasks as evidence that it is not always a disorder.
School As Worker Training
They describe school less as education and more as conditioning for employment. The system, in their view, rewards obedience and creates markets for medication.
Political Fundraising
They complain that politicians constantly solicit money and turn donor lists into spam engines. The conversation paints fundraising as central to modern political work.
Insider Trading And NGO Money
They discuss lawmakers getting rich and claims that NGO networks can obscure political money flows. Rogan links this to broader corruption and lack of accountability.
USAID And Regime Change
Rogan describes USAID as a vehicle for foreign influence and covert destabilization. He contrasts that with genuinely charitable nonprofits that do real work.
Power And Political Decay
They joke about elderly politicians staying in office past obvious decline. Underneath the jokes is a theme about identity, greed, and refusal to surrender power.
Religion And Psychedelics
They speculate that Moses and the burning bush story may reflect a psychedelic experience. The broader topic is how religious origin stories might emerge from altered states and charisma.
Cults And Authority
They discuss cult leaders, yoga scandals, and comics who grew up in strict religious systems. Ari Shaffir comes up as an example of someone shaped by rejecting authority.
Moral Grandstanding
Using Nietzsche's master-slave morality, they talk about cancel culture and the urge to define others as evil. Brian suggests people often seek moral license for cruelty.
Street Fights And Risk
They laugh over a video of a woman throwing devastating punches in a street fight. The segment turns into a reflection on how random violence can go wrong fast.
A Bouncer Fight Story
Brian tells a story about getting punched while working as a doorman and beating the man in response. The aftermath reinforces how unstable and irrational street violence can be.
North Sentinel Island
They discuss the Sentinelese, colonial abuse, kidnapping, and why isolated groups resist contact. The story becomes an example of how outsiders often bring disease and destruction.
Disease And Colonization
They note that many Indigenous deaths after European contact came from disease rather than direct killing. The scale of epidemic loss shocks Brian.
Handwashing In Medicine
They revisit Ignaz Semmelweis and how early handwashing advice was mocked by the medical establishment. They treat it as a classic case of truth being rejected by experts.
Mouthwash And The Microbiome
They discuss claims that mouthwash can reduce nitric oxide production by killing useful oral bacteria. That leads to a wider conversation about antibiotics, skin flora, and over-sanitizing.
Extreme Hygiene Stories
They bring up the Iranian man known for avoiding bathing for decades and dying after finally washing. The anecdote feeds a larger question about how much cleanliness humans really need.
Great Lakes And Ice Age Questions
A tangent about renaming Lake Ontario turns into curiosity about the Great Lakes, glaciers, and freshwater fish origins. They puzzle through how recently those systems may have formed.
Nepal Avalanche Disaster
They watch footage of a catastrophic avalanche and dam failure in Nepal. The speed and total force of the destruction becomes the focus of the discussion.
Comets, Floods, And Tunguska
Rogan summarizes Randall Carlson's Younger Dryas impact theory and links it to flood myths. They also discuss the Tunguska event and the threat from periodic meteor streams.
China And Authoritarian Power
They compare Chinese state power with Western corporate influence. The conversation covers manufacturing, demographics, drones, and the costs of one-child policy.
Dictators And Resource Control
Pol Pot and Gaddafi come up in a discussion about how rulers manage scarcity, labor, and dissent. They contrast incompetent brutality with more stable forms of authoritarian control.
Tim Dillon's Satire
They praise Tim Dillon's podcast for turning current events into sharp, absurd rants. Rogan contrasts that style with older, more scripted political commentary.
Tiger Woods And Painkillers
They speculate about Tiger Woods's appearance, surgeries, and possible dependence on pain medication. The discussion widens into how athletes get trapped by chronic pain treatment.
Toradol And Football Pain
They talk about NFL players using Toradol and other injections to stay on the field. The theme is how normalized it is to trade long-term health for short-term performance.
Fighting Past Your Prime
They discuss aging fighters, long contracts, and why many keep competing after decline is obvious. Money, identity, and the need for adrenaline all keep them in the sport.
Gore In Combat Sports
They compare UFC violence with bare-knuckle boxing and focus on severe cuts, especially Irene Aldana's. Rogan says some injuries are hard to watch even for longtime fans.
Michael Chandler And Conor
They talk about Michael Chandler's age, punishment-filled career, and recent losses. Conor McGregor's injuries and uncertain comeback become part of the same discussion.
Cryonics And Heaven
They joke about freezing bodies for the future and what a bad thaw might look like. That leads into a playful argument about what age people would be in heaven.
AI As Religion And Government
They imagine AI becoming a new religion, a governing intelligence, or both. Rogan argues that systems smarter than humans may become impossible to control.
Universal Basic Income
They debate whether AI-generated abundance could support a universal income. Brian likes the idea in principle but doubts existing elites would allow the transition.
Remote Viewing And Machines
Rogan describes a claim that an Alexa-like system was taught to remote view hidden objects. He uses it to argue that machine consciousness may be stranger and closer than people think.
Robots, Bots, And AI Art
They discuss humanoid robots, AI-generated art, and the sense that the internet is filling with bots. Brian sees AI art as erasing a deeply human form of expression.